Hippopotamuses are extremely territorial animals and tend to attack people and animals that invade their habitat. Despite their peaceful appearance, they outnumber more ferocious animals, such as lions and sharks, in the number of attacks on humans, with most attacks taking place when hippos are in the water. Found only in Africa, they live in flocks of 30 individuals, on average, led by a male. Corpulent, they weigh more than 3 tons and measure 3.5 meters. To escape the African heat, they spend the day immersed in lakes or rivers and come out at night to graze. Despite their heavy body, they are capable of running short distances at 50 km/h! Today there are only two species of the animal: the common hippo (Hipopotamus amphibius) and the pygmy (Hexaprotodon liberiensis), which is the size of a pig and is found in African tropical forests. Unlike their better known “cousin”, pygmies are solitary animals or that live in pairs. It is estimated that there are at most 3,000 pygmy hippos on the planet.
1. Most attacks on humans occur when the person is in a canoe. Experts believe that hippos mistake the boat for crocodiles, one of the biggest predators of their young.
2. When it’s time to attack, the hippo go up, biting in all directions. Thus, they tear the canoe to pieces and throw its occupants into the water. “Many people are also terrified and jump into the water”, says German biologist Hans Klingel, who studies the behavior of these animals.
3. After the person falls into the water, the hippo continues to bite and is capable of tearing off an arm or a leg. The ferocity of this heavyweight makes it responsible for the highest number of deaths caused by large wild animals in Africa.
4. The hippopotamus’ main weapon is its enormous mouth, which reaches an opening of up to 180 degrees, with a distance of 1.2 meters between the top and bottom. Inside it are long, sharp canines, which can exceed 30 centimeters in length – longer than your forearm, reader!
SUNBLOCK
Despite being thick, hippo skin is very sensitive to sunburn. Therefore, glands under your skin release a viscous liquid that works as an efficient sunscreen. As this liquid is reddish, the myth that the animal sweats blood arose.
BICÃO PARTNER
Hippopotamuses also have another protector: the oxpeckers, who live by pecking at the hippo’s back. In this kind of cleaning, the birds eat parasites from the animal’s skin — an exchange of favors called commensalism by biologists
KING OF THE RIVER
Owner of an enviable breath, the hippopotamus stays up to five minutes under water. For this, it has adaptations in its body, such as membranes in its ears and valves in its nostrils to cover them during diving.
FREE SWIMMING
The body of hippos is too dense for them to swim. To move in the water, they walk along the bottom of the river, in a sort of slow-motion gallop, lightly touching the ground with their fingertips.